VERNA HARGROVE: Pearl of Great Price

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 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it," Matthew 13:45-46 NIV.

When Jesus walked the dirt roads of ancient Israel, he often told stories, which had a spiritual meaning. He would begin by saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like...." He would then proceed to tell what His kingdom was like. There is no kingdom like the Kingdom of Heaven. If we understand that love is the driving force in His kingdom, then we can better understand the stories He told.

These stories, called parables, describe the result of having the king with us. Jesus wanted his disciples to see beyond what was just in front of their noses into the realm of the spirit. Called mysteries of the kingdom, the parables give us a glimpse of what it will be like on earth until Jesus returns in great power.

Of the fifteen parables that Jesus told in the Book of Matthew, all but three begin with the phrase, "The Kingdom of Heaven." The idiom "Kingdom of Heaven" is found thirty-five times in Matthew. Other gospels do not do that, because Matthew wanted the Jews to know that the king they were looking for had arrived.

The Jews in that day understood about the Kingdom of Heaven better than people do today. Moses taught them and they adored Moses. God told Israel at Sinai that they would be unto Him as a kingdom of priests. God was their king. They were the kids in the kingdom.

The first story Jesus told in Matthew 13 was about a farmer sowing seed. He said, "A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on the footpath, and the birds came and ate them," Matthew 13:4. NLT One would say, "What a waste of time and seed." That got the disciples attention.

Jesus told a series of parables in Matthew 13. The first one was about a farmer scattering seed everywhere he went. Some landed on a path and the birds ate it. Some landed in shallow soil, grew too quickly, and wilted in the sun. Some fell among thorns and the thorns chocked it to death. He said these were pictures of people who hear the word of God but do not respond to it properly. He went on to tell about rich soil. In that soil the seed grew abundantly. He said that the well-fertilized soil was a picture of those who truly accept God's message of love and mans sinful condition. The ones who act wisely on the knowledge they receive are the ones ready to read their Bibles, pray and grow in the Lord.

Next Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as everyone slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat," 24,25. The next story Jesus told about the Kingdom of Heaven was of a farmer planting seed in the daytime and the enemy sowing weeds into the field at night. He said they both had to grow together until harvest time or else the tender wheat would be harmed while growing.

Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches." The mustard seed is so small, but has power to grow large. We see in this illustration that all things both good and bad begin with something small--a small seed.

He then talked about comparing the Kingdom of Heaven with a woman putting a small amount of yeast with her flour to bake bread. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast used by a woman making bread," he said. The yeast permeated through out the bread. Jesus wanted them to see deeper into small actions that we do. There is a profound truth being taught here that all things are not pure.

Next he said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man finding a treasure hidden in a field. The man was so excited that he hid the treasure again so no one else could find it. He then sold everything he owned so that he could buy that field. In buying the field, he purchased the treasure, too.

Matthew said that Jesus did not talk to the average person without telling these kinds of stories about the Kingdom of Heaven. These stories give us insight as to who Jesus was and his love for humankind. "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God," Phil. 2:5-6. NLT One of the first lessons we learn is that living in the Kingdom of Heaven involves humility.

Jesus left His throne in glory to come to earth to die on a cross carved from a tree. He came to be King to His own (the Jews), but they refused the offer. They did not accept Him as their king. Instead, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who were the rightful heirs, chose to have Him crucified. They killed their king.